Process of restoring rubber.



F. MOENCH. PROCESS 0F BESTURING RUBBER. APPLICATION r|LEn1uNE16.1915.

Patented. Feb. 15, 1916.

WIr/M8858; wf/v me A TTOR/VEl/S FREIDERICKl MOENCH, OF RUSHVILLE,ILLINOIS.

PROCESS 0F BESTURING RUBBER.

lSpecification of Letters Patent,

Application filed June 16, 1915. Serial No. 34,387.

To all Lv/0m z't may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK MonNcH, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Rushville, in the county of Schuyler and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improved Process of RestoringRubber, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to processes for restoring oldrubber, my ob- 'ect bein to )rovide a sim le and inex eno sive processby means of which new life may be imparted to rubber which hasdeteriorated from various causes.

Generally speaking, my process, which will be presently described indetail, proposes the addition of a mixture of oil and turpentine to oldrubber, and the subsequent heating thereof to av considerable heat andfor a. considerable time out of the influence of air. l

In carrying out my process, for which purpose an apparatus, such asshown in the accompanying drawing, wherein the igure is a view partly inelevation and partly in section, may be utilized, the old ordeteriorated rubber is first preferably washed by immersing the same ina cleansing solution, such as gasolene, scrubbing the rubber whileimmersed, if necessary, and in then thoroughly drying before proceedingwith the further steps.

After washing and drying, the rubber is either dipped within, or paintedover with, a solution of equal parts of linseed oil (boiled) andturpentine, anda mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine witheither lire clay, plaster of Paris, or common cement or white clay,forming a plastic composition of the consistency of soft butter, isspread entirely over the rubber to a thickness of from one-thirty-secondto one-sixteenth of an inch. The rubber so enveloped is laid upon waxedpaper or other suitable material to prevent sticking, and if severallayers of the rubber are to be treated at the same time, waxed paper orother material for the same purpose is placed. between the layers. Thetreated rubber is then wrapped in waxed paper and placed Within asuitable retort of such a nature as to withstand `tion to one part ofheavy pressure and permit of its closed in air-tight relation shown at Ain the drawing. This retort is preferably placed in a vesselsubstantially as shown at B containing melted paraiiin, and is thereinsubjected to a heat of from 300o to 3250 Fahrenheit, for a period offrom 45 minutes to one hour by placing the vessel uponl a heater C, athermometer D being utilized to maintain the desired heat.

The rubber may, after cooling, be removed and permitted to season, theseasoning thereof requiring various lengths of time from three to thirtysix hours according to the amount of the solution of linseed oil andturpentine used therewith.

The rubber may, if so desired, be chopped into small particles about thesize of beet seeds, and soaked in a mixture of linseed oil andturpentine, andthereafter placed within the retort along with an excessof the oil solution of one-half to one part of soluchopped rubber, theheating being carried out in substantially the same manner as heretoforedescribed.

It has been found that the heat may be applied either slowly or rapidly,andthe rubber afterward allowed to cool either slowly or rapidly,without material differ ence in the results.

It has also been found that the amount of solution applied or added tothe rubber should vary with the condition of the rubber and depend uponthe extent of its deterioration.

The process isv therefore subject to considerable variation as to theamount of solution, the manner in which the solution is added to therubber, the temperature and time of application of the heat, and thetime allowed for seasoning, all as above outlined, but when carried outsubstantially as I have described, the process will be found to developnew life to the old and deteriorated rubber, restoring the same to aconsiderable extent and is in addition to this cheap and simple.

I claim:

1. The process of restoring rubber which consists in enveloping oldrub-ber with a plastic mixture containing linseed oil, tzzfbeingsubstantially as Patented lFeb. 115, 1916. i

pentine, ancl an earthymaterial, and sub- 'jecting'the same tocontinuousheat out of jecting the rubber so enveloped to a conthe influence of nirby placing the covered tinuous heat out of the influence of nir. rubberwithinu closed retort.

2. The process of restoring rubber which FREDERICK MOENCH. 5 consists inapplying thereto :1 covering layer lVtnesses:

formed of a plastic mixture of linseed oil, H. H. SPEED,

turpentine, and a elayey material, and sub- BESSE A.. JONES.

